Contemporary mold change-out sequence begins with the press bringing the stationary and movable platens together, strapping the A and B mold halves together and disengaging the A mold half from the A side platen and the B mold half from the B side platen. A cable from a hoist is attached to the joined halves and, as the press is slowly opened, the weight of the joined halves is taken by the hoist. With the press fully opened, the hoist moves the joined halves to a location outside the press. A new set of A and B mold halves are attached to the hoist and placed in the press in the reversed order. Depending upon the accessibility, size and weight of the mold and other factors, a mold change-out can take from fifteen minutes up to several hours.
It is now proposed to provide a mold apparatus and method of change-out which will take only two normal cycles of the press.